A few words from our participants:

"It means a lot to be part of this really supportive team. There are kids my age and my speed and we're all really tight. I'm so happy I joined. I also liked how we helped out as a team with Mavericks and cleaning the Kongsberger cabin, and then we're really independent at races."

"I absolutely love being a Momentum athlete; it's a highlight of my life and the teammates and coaches mean so much to me. It is the most fun, supportive and difficult team I have ever had the pleasure of participating in."

"Being a Momentum athlete means going out and trying my best all the time for my own good but also for the good of the team as well."

"It’s hard to remember an exact story. Every practice would have its own joke or story by the end of it, and to be quite truthful the entire year was my favorite story (although the banana peel fights do stick out as one of my favorite things)."

"Being a Momentum athlete means I get a great coach who brings me up to ski every weekend and helps me become a better skier, and I also get to race on a great team with good support."

What people are saying about Momentum Northwest:

We place the highest emphasis on quality and professionalism in our coaching staff. In addition to being nationally-certified by the United States Ski and Snowboard as Level 100 and 200 instructors, they have earned the admiration and respect of the athletic community for their prowess.

I expected Cooper would have fun skiing in this program. What I did not expect was the huge increase in his athletic ability, the increased sense of self and self-confidence, and the amount he learned about balancing academics with the demands of a rigorous athletic program. Cooper has learned more in one ski season from Momentum Northwest than I thought possible.

— C., parent of U16 skier

"I think the program works incredibly well so it is hard to narrow it down. I'm extremely impressed with Zach in particular. His foresight with the kids, getting to their level, talking about goals, explaining technique and waxing are all fantastic."

-Parent of U16 skier

Reflective solitude, a strong work ethic, the sublimation of ego — these are all elements of success in the wonderful sport of cross-country skiing, where years of focused, year-round hard work are needed and rewarded, where the athlete has to achieve a high degree of honest self-knowledge in order to succeed. Other sports have succumbed to Big Money and have become a business, and in the process become very dubious role models for young athletes. Nordic skiing remains almost pure as a joy, a lifelong sport, a life enhancement, and a school for growth. I can think of no finer path toward self-realization for young athletes, and I count my 40-odd years in the sport as time wonderfully spent.

— Nat Brown; Nat coached cross-country skiing for 16 years before joining the US Biathlon Team as wax technician, switching to the US Cross-Country team in 1989. He was the first American to take over technical services for a foreign team (Slovenia) and worked also for Germany and Sweden. He has coached at 3 Olympics and 14 World Championships, edited Nordic Update for 9 years and Cross-Country Skier for 2. He wrote The Complete Guide to Cross-Country Ski Preparation (Mountaineers Books) which has gone through two editions and a Russian translation.